USATF Win With Integrity renews Track in a Box through Citi Olympic Program

4/12/2012

NEW YORK - To support America’s next generation of athletes, Citi on Thursday announced a $500,000 donation to the U.S. Olympic Committee to launch Every Step of the Way℠, an innovative digital program benefitting U.S. Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls and athletes of all ages in communities across America.

Two-time Olympian Sanya-Richards Ross has been selected as a member of Team Citi and has identified USA Track & Field’s Win With Integrity program to receive ThankYou® Points on her behalf.

Through the Every Step of the Way program, Citi’s $500,000 donation is being represented by 50 million ThankYou® Points -- the currency of Citi ThankYou® Rewards. The program allows the American people to help allocate these ThankYou® Points to Sport Programs through activity on Facebook and Twitter, allowing Team Citi athletes to say “thank you” to the Sport Programs that have inspired them.

As a result of the funds raised through ThankYou® Points, Win With Integrity will renew its Track in a Box kits for schools across the country. The kits, which will be donated to schools and community centers that are part of the Win With Integrity program, include track & field implements, cones, whistles, batons and other items that the schools can use to start or improve their track and field programs.

The Every Step of the Way program features the Team Citi athletes -- 13 alumni, qualifiers and hopefuls representing a range of sports: swimming, soccer, tennis, triathlon, gymnastics, track & field (Olympic/Paralympic) and sitting volleyball. These athletes were selected by Citi because they exemplify the spirit and mission of the program and have been inspired by their dedicated Sport Programs on their athletic journey. In addition to Richards-Ross, marathoner Meb Keflezighi has been named to Team Citi and will allocate his receive ThankYou® Points to the USOC Sport Performance division.

How THE PROGRAM works and How TO JOIN THE MOVEMENT:
Fans who participate through Facebook can also help direct how the 50 million ThankYou Points are allocated through their activity on Facebook and Twitter– using a #CitiEveryStep hashtag, replying to a tweet about the campaign with the hashtag or inviting friends to sign up. For each activity, ThankYou Points from Citi’s donation will be directed to the U.S. Olympic or Paralympic Sport Program specific to the fan’s Team Citi athlete. For full participation details, visit www.citi.com/everystep

The more a fan participates, the more ThankYou Points they can direct to the Sport Program until its goal is reached. At the end of the program, the USOC will use Citi’s donation to give the cash equivalent of the ThankYou Points directly to the Sport Program matched with the Team Citi athlete.

About Win with Integrity:
The Win With Integrity program is a USA Track & Field (USATF) program initiative aimed at educating youth, parents, educators, and coaches about the positive results that come from leading a physically active, drug-free lifestyle while living with integrity. For more information, visit www.usatf.org/About/Programs/WinWithIntegrity

About Citi:
Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. *Citi's USOC sponsorship and media rights include U.S. corporate and investment banking, retail banking and commercial banking.
Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @CitiEveryStep | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://new.citi.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi

About the USOC :
Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., the U.S. Olympic Committee serves as both the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States. As such, the USOC is responsible for the training, entering and funding of U.S. teams for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American and Parapan American Games, while serving as a steward of the Olympic and Paralympic Movements throughout the country. For more information, visit TeamUSA.org.